OK, this may be the wrong forum section, but hear me out before moving it to the graveyard of wherever -

Yesterday my wife and I took our 3 year old daughter to the cinema to watch the new Tinkerbell Movie, fine, but in the 30 minutes of trailers beforehand we get hit with this advert, twice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwrkMLC_n3o

I'm actually offended, and I'm rarely offended. What a horrible, exploitative, piece of shit advert that is. Designed purely to make impressionable kids feel unloved, and their parents neglectful if they don't take their kids to a shitty, horrifically overpriced themepark.

My opinion is that if you take your kids to Disneyland, you've not only more money that sense, you've more money than love. Because all it proves is that you lack the imagination and effort to give them a life experience worth remembering, and just chuck cash at the problem instead.

OK, this may be the wrong forum section, but hear me out before moving it to the graveyard of wherever -

Yesterday my wife and I took our 3 year old daughter to the cinema to watch the new Tinkerbell Movie, fine, but in the 30 minutes of trailers beforehand we get hit with this advert, twice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwrkMLC_n3o

I'm actually offended, and I'm rarely offended. What a horrible, exploitative, piece of shit advert that is. Designed purely to make impressionable kids feel unloved, and their parents neglectful if they don't take their kids to a shitty, horrifically overpriced themepark.

My opinion is that if you take your kids to Disneyland, you've not only more money that sense, you've more money than love. Because all it proves is that you lack the imagination and effort to give them a life experience worth remembering, and just chuck cash at the problem instead.

F*ck Mickey Mouse!

Amen.

If you’re serious would you please chill the fuck out? If that’s getting you angry, than maybe you should bite the bullet and move to the States.

Hate to know what you think of McDonalds ads.

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Last edited by wisey on Mon Dec 17, 2012 5:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

My opinion is that if you take your kids to Disneyland, you've not only more money that sense, you've more money than love. Because all it proves is that you lack the imagination and effort to give them a life experience worth remembering, and just chuck cash at the problem instead.

Wait what? More money than love? Dude it's a fucking theme park! You're making out like it's akin to child abuse. And who's to say they won't enjoy or remember the experience? You're making out like any parent who brings their children to Disneyland are irresponsible rich dickheads who throw money at their kids hoping it'll make them turn out alright. Screw that, and your gross generalisations.

My opinion is that if you take your kids to Disneyland, you've not only more money that sense, you've more money than love. Because all it proves is that you lack the imagination and effort to give them a life experience worth remembering, and just chuck cash at the problem instead.

Wait what? More money than love? Dude it's a fucking theme park! You're making out like it's akin to child abuse. And who's to say they won't enjoy or remember the experience? You're making out like any parent who brings their children to Disneyland are irresponsible rich dickheads who throw money at their kids hoping it'll make them turn out alright. Screw that, and your gross generalisations.

Oh and yes, I agree it's a terrible, manipulative advertisement.

Most are yeah. That's exactly what they are. It's a symptom of society's apathy and lack of imagination . When the western big finance/big state model collapses, people will have to back to thinking for themelves, and delegating parental responsibility to a twat in a Mickey Mouse constume will hopefully die a squealing, undignified death.

In fact, you worded it better than I ever could.

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Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:20 am

JamesKunz

Critic

Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:35 amPosts: 6254Location: Easton, MD

Re: I'm Still Angry

If anything you should be more offended by how many damn ads they play before the movie in the UK, if my experience in the Odeon Kensington last year is representative, not a fairly innocuous commercial for something that kids really do love the shit out of, even if the ad presses pretty hard.

If anything you should be more offended by how many damn ads they play before the movie in the UK, if my experience in the Odeon Kensington last year is representative, not a fairly innocuous commercial for something that kids really do love the shit out of, even if the ad presses pretty hard.

Yeah there was that too.

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Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:29 am

Vexer

Auteur

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:02 pmPosts: 3606Location: Zion, IL

Re: I'm Still Angry

I'm no fan of theme parks either, but I don't think it's fair to automatically assume everyone who takes they're kids to such a place is a rich asshole. That said that ad is pretty manipulative.

2. The core goal of most ads targeted toward kids is to make parents feel ashamed if they don't buy/participate in whatever is being advertised.

(The core goal of the rest of them is to get the kids to think that the toy is way cooler than it actually is. No, kids, the Batmobile does not come with a giant stack of blocks that it crashes through on the way to Mr. Freeze's hideout, which it also doesn't come with. Sorry.)

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Mon Dec 17, 2012 2:50 pm

Threeperf35

Re: I'm Still Angry

Well my problem with the tv commercial is, that it says the following: "Parents: look at this, you have no choice. See how incredibly happy these children are already in anticipation? There is no other way in the entire world to make them that happy. You will make a big mistake not taking your kids to Disney-whatever!"

It isn't about theme parks in general, it is about how Disney theme parks (and any Disney product) holds the key to yor children's happiness more than you do.

It's actually very smart "bad conscious" advertising (you don't buy our product/service, you will regret it). Listen to the music: that is alternative-ish "auteur pop" (many an indie movie sounds exactly like this almost wall to wall). Sure ain't the sound of happines. That's because the ad's target are the 30 something parents who are liured into spending cash (hard earned or not is not the issue on hand).

I'm sure there are still parents in this world who really care and try doing the right thing for their offspring. It's this incredilbly manipulative ad which is very sneaky. Not Hugh: I can see in your reaction that this ad did hit the right nerves - you are simply intelligent enough to recognize what hit you.

I reember reading once about some chap named Immanuel Kant, he actually believed in ethics. Must have been a long time ago.........

EDIT: Ken was faster than me. Guess whe had the exact same thought.

Mon Dec 17, 2012 3:04 pm

Blonde Almond

Cinematographer

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 2:41 pmPosts: 507Location: The Desert

Re: I'm Still Angry

NotHughGrant wrote:

My opinion is that if you take your kids to Disneyland, you've not only more money that sense, you've more money than love. Because all it proves is that you lack the imagination and effort to give them a life experience worth remembering, and just chuck cash at the problem instead.

Look, you have no interest in Disneyland, fine. You don't like the advertisement, fine. I have no problem with you having that opinion, and I do agree that that particular ad is obnoxious, although nothing to get really worked up over. But I can't stand this smug, hypocritical, elitist generalization that if you take your kids to Disneyland, you're somehow a bad parent. If you honestly believe that, then what's the difference between taking your kid to Disneyland and taking your kid to the latest Tinkerbell movie? Isn't that also just chucking cash at the "problem" instead of giving your kid a life experience worth remembering? The answer is of course it isn't. You took your kid to see the movie either because they asked you to take them or because you thought it would make them happy. So what makes Disneyland any different, other than requiring more of an investment? My parents have never been rich, but they took their kids there when they were young because they felt it would make them happy and provide some nice family memories. And it did. Most of the forum members here probably don't care one way or another about this, but I do, as someone who lives only a 6 hour drive from Anaheim and has consequently been to Disneyland several times over the years. I don't look at my parents in any less light because they took their children to Disneyland when they were young, just as I don't look at my aunt and uncle in any less light for taking their two young children, one of whom is high-functioning autistic, to Disneyland, where they all have a great time. I'll be going with them, and with my own family, to Disneyland over this next weekend, and the last thing I'll be thinking about is some pompous twit from across the Atlantic who thinks that we're somehow in the wrong for enjoying ourselves at a theme park.

I generally appreciate the contributions you make to this forum, but fuck off for that above statement.

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Mon Dec 17, 2012 3:44 pm

Ragnarok73

Cinematographer

Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:40 pmPosts: 514

Re: I'm Still Angry

Ken wrote:

1. They do play too many ads before movies, don't they?

What's really annoying for me is that the commercials are now outnumbering the trailers that play before a film starts. Even more annoying is that theaters aren't factoring that in when giving the public the running time for the film (eg: film starts at 4:30pm and is clocked at 120 minutes, but with the fucking commercials and trailers, it should read more like 135 minutes from that time).

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Mon Dec 17, 2012 4:17 pm

Threeperf35

Re: I'm Still Angry

The ad is about Disneyland (Paris, France), but I think there is no point talking about the Disney company. There are so many more with the same philosophy: don't sell quality, sell what people want and tell them what they should want. In case of the Disney company the "trashy" part fortunately is fairly recent. Anyway: this all has been discussed ad nauseum. It is one of the drawbacks of the commercial system. I work in the advertising business myself. I know the drill. It's about results, not about how they are obtained.

There is a way to retain that sense of wonder. I went to Disneyland (LA, CA) way back in 1981 (at age 20 hardly a child anymore) and to Universal Studio's guide and theme park back in 2003. I loved both very much. I simply see through the commercial system and make the most of it for myself. I think about the many jobs such a theme park brings and how much talent is all around me.

P.S. just a comment about the two sides of the Atlantic. (Why so much hostility -from both sides - sometimes? Take it easy folks, willya?) When I was younger, I often (in my free time that is) did a lot of impressions and stuff with my voice (no matter if I sucked) and manifested myself when I simply was in a happy mood. No matter if in Germany, or in most other European countries I been to: it always had been dismissed as being silly. Not so in the US. The rat race might be very tough in the US, but people still seem to have that sense of simply having fun. If you are in a line waiting for hours and you do an impression of, say, Darth Vader ("Obi Wan never toooold you....") anywhere in Europe, people think you are a nutjob, in the US (at least I made that experience), you get the honest approval of laughter from all sides, because people correctly interpret it as something to lighten up the situation. I guess we Europeans have lost our sense of having fun long ago (or never had it in the first place).

What's really annoying for me is that the commercials are now outnumbering the trailers that play before a film starts. Even more annoying is that theaters aren't factoring that in when giving the public the running time for the film (eg: film starts at 4:30pm and is clocked at 120 minutes, but with the fucking commercials and trailers, it should read more like 135 minutes from that time).

My multiplex plays the commercials up until the stated start time of the movie. Then previews start at the posted start time...a "commercial" for the chain (just in case you forgot where you were) and then the movie. With previews, the main feature generally starts 10-15 minutes after the stated start time. They used to do Pepsi and car commercials and the like at the posted start time, but moved then them back into the nethertime between showings about 5 or 6 years ago.

Well firstly I'd like to aplogise for the hyperbole employed by me earlier. If your parents took you etc I'm sure they did in good spirit and for the right reasons. My issue was that I know good people, with kids, in financial dire straights, and this advert kinda pressed all the wrong buttons yesterday. Every parent I personally know would gouge their own eyes out for their children and this kind of pressure shit winds me up. But I apologise for any offence

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Mon Dec 17, 2012 7:47 pm

Vexer

Auteur

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:02 pmPosts: 3606Location: Zion, IL

Re: I'm Still Angry

NotHughGrant wrote:

Well firstly I'd like to aplogise for the hyperbole employed by me earlier. If your parents took you etc I'm sure they did in good spirit and for the right reasons. My issue was that I know good people, with kids, in financial dire straights, and this advert kinda pressed all the wrong buttons yesterday. Every parent I personally know would gouge their own eyes out for their children and this kind of pressure shit winds me up. But I apologise for any offence

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